Prior research has demonstrated that early career socialization experiences play an important role in career outcomes, including learning, performance, satisfaction, and retention. What is not yet well understood, however, is how the organizational socialization experiences of different groups of early career engineers vary and how such variation leads to different career outcomes. By examining the experiences of first year engineers, this article contributes new insights into factors affecting socialization experiences and draws attention to privilege as an important factor shaping engineering socialization experiences. The stories of negative interpersonal interactions experienced by first year women civil engineers are presented and used to glean forms of privilege that affect newcomer socialization. The primary forms of intersectional privilege identified stem from gender and race, with religion and nationality also shaping newcomer experiences. The stories are used to inform proposed additions to a model of engineering socialization.
more »
« less
Factors that Affect Retention and Satisfaction Among Newly Hired Aerospace Engineers
Turnover plays a significant role in the productivity of any organization and is especially vital within the initial adjustment period of new hires. Organizations seek to develop strategies to reduce turnover to help
solve this issue, but these strategies require knowledge of what influences the retention and satisfaction of the employees. The objective of this research is to identify the factors that managers perceive to affect the
retention and the satisfaction of newly hired aerospace engineers so that managers or employers can create strategies to reduce turnover within this group. While research has been conducted on general retention and satisfaction, no research has been specific to the aerospace engineering field and its newly hired employees. These aspects are important because unique factors can arise within specific fields. The current study used qualitative research methods to analyze seven semi-structured interviews with experienced managers of newly hired aerospace engineers. These interviews were analyzed to find key factors that managers consider to affect retention and satisfaction. This research identified six themes for retention factors: local and national economic trends, personal factors unique to each newcomer, the quality of work assigned to the newcomer, the social environment of
the workgroup, benefits offered to employees, and the newcomer’s role and how it fits in with the workgroup. This study also identified six themes for satisfaction factors: the quality of work assigned to the newcomer, management styles and actions, general work environment, benefits, fit with a mentor, and expectations for the aerospace industry.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1826388
- PAR ID:
- 10177628
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASEE annual conference
- ISSN:
- 0190-1052
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Prior research has demonstrated that early career socialization experiences play an important role in career outcomes, including learning, performance, satisfaction, and retention. What is not yet well under- stood, however, is how the organizational socialization experiences of different groups of early career engineers vary and how such variation leads to different career outcomes. By examining the experiences of first year engineers, this article contributes new insights into factors affecting socialization experiences and draws attention to privilege as an important factor shaping engineering socialization experiences. The stories of negative interpersonal interactions experienced by first year women civil engineers are presented and used to glean forms of privilege that affect newcomer socialization. The primary forms of intersectional privilege identified stem from gender and race, with religion and nationality also shaping newcomer experiences. The stories are used to inform proposed additions to a model of engineering socialization.more » « less
-
Research suggests that engineers generally undergo socialization through two sets of socialization processes when they are newly hired to an organization: (1) initiating proactive behaviors and (2) participating in company-initiated actions, called organizational tactics. This study provides a first-look at socialization in the U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) industry by examining how newly-hired engineers at A&D organizations initiate proactive behaviors and participate in organizational tactics to adjust to their new jobs and organizations. First, the relationships between two sets of socialization processes and socialization outcomes of new engineers were examined. Second, holistic profiles that best characterize newly hired engineers’ socialization processes, and whether engineers with different types of profiles present varying socialization outcomes were identified. A total of 86 new engineers who had less than two years of working experience in their A&D organizations were included in this study. Multiple regression and Latent Profile Analyses (LPA) were employed. Study findings show that newly-hired engineers in the A&D industry frequently rely on social interactions to adjust to their job position and organization, and they often participate in organizational tactics more than proactive socialization behaviors. Implications of these findings in the context of A&D workplaces and aerospace engineering education settings are discussed.more » « less
-
Internationally and in the United States, teachers are leaving the profession in an expedited rate resulting in a teacher shortage. This systematic literature review synthesizes empirical literature to identify current characteristics or factors related to stress, job satisfaction and burnout for secondary general education teachers. Four themes are developed from examination: stress factors, job satisfaction, teacher burnout, and teachers’ intent to remain in the profession. Within the identified themes, four subthemes are also developed: administration effect or relationship on teacher burnout, policy on teachers, new teachers vs, veteran teachers, and leavers and stayers. The factors presented from this review could support future research in developing new approaches to prevent teacher turnover and promote instead teacher retention in schools.more » « less
-
Using data from a 5-year ongoing study of early career Latine engineers, we report scores on sociocultural variables (i.e., acculturation; enculturation) and work outcomes (i.e., goal progress; work satisfaction; turnover intentions, work satisfaction, and life satisfaction). We examine differences in scores across Latine engineers based on gender, parental status, and characteristics of workers in the employer’s organization. The findings may point to workplace factors that can impact the retention of Latine engineers.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- The DOI is not currently available.
